Your Ultimate Guide to the Best Beauty Products and Treatments in 2014

Menu

Category Archives: Eyes

Post navigation

GlyTerra-gL Eye Cream is supposed to “prevent and correct visible signs of aging in the digital eye area.” It claims to reduce fine lines, improve dark circles and tighten and lift the bagging upper eye lid area. Note that it says upper eye lid, not lower. It does nothing for lower eye bags.

I have been using this eye cream on my upper eyelids for two months. It does seem like my lids are smoother and slightly less crepey. I see some improvement. I think it’s worth at least trying. But, it’s rather pricey at around $50 for a .5 ml tube.

This product is not to be confused with the GlyTerra-gL Anti-Glycation Regimen. That is the San Medica’s day and night cream for the entire face, not the eyes. I am currently trying it and will review those later.

There’s a little something you can use that will make a huge difference when doing your smokey eye, or just want to have that sexy cat eye look. It’s called a Shadow Shammy, invented by celeb make-up artist Alexis Vogel.

It’s just fabric made of soft cloth cut into a triangle, BUT it is designed to fit the outside corner of your eye so that you can draw out your eyeshadow line perfectly. (People used to use credit cards for the same effect, but they are stiff and hard to use.) Even using it to just fill in the lower corner of your eye with dark shadow, can TRANSFORM the way you look. I know, it’s hard to believe such a little thing could make a difference, but it does.

Here’s how to use the shadow shammy (starts at 5 minutes 36 seconds in):

The best concealer is NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer. Not the usual thick lipstick like material that globs on. This is like a lip gloss with a flat sponge applicator. It goes on smoothly, blends perfectly with no creasing, caking or highlighting and covers well.

I am fair skinned, but not super white, like a red head might be. I got the Honey (Light 3) and it worked perfectly for me. Some of the other lighter colors have a yellow tone that wouldn’t work for me.

Just a reminder: I don’t work for a beauty magazine. I get no commissions, no free samples, nothing that could influence my judgment of the products on this blog. I’m just a customer, like you, trying to figure out what is the best and what works and what doesn’t.

Nothing brings out the color of light to medium eyes more than lining the insides with a black liner. The best black eye liner for staying power even on the waterline is Chanel Stylo Yeux Waterproof Long Lasting Eyeliner in Ebene #10 or Noire Intense #88. They both have a matte finish. The other Chanel black eyeliner pencil, Black Shimmer #70 has a silvery surface to it and is not good for lining around the inner eyes. These blacks are similar in intensity to Bobbi Brown’s Black Ink Liner, but that one has a slight sheen to it. You want a matte finish for lining the inside of the eyes (the waterline.)

These Chanel eyeliners comes in 18 shades. Smudge proof and water proof, it’s a pencil that you don’t have to sharpen.

Why have I chosen a pencil over a liquid liner? I do use MAC Liquid Liner in Boot Black and it’s fine, but I prefer a pencil when lining the inside of the eyes. I don’t want a messy liquid spilling over onto my eyeball when I’m lining my eyes.

I usually don’t like drugstore cosmetics, but in this case, I make an exception. If you want eyeshadow that you can wear to bed and get up in the morning with none of it on your pillow and it’s still in place on your eyes, then L’Oreal Infallible 24 Hour Eyeshadow is for you.

A laser has been developed by a company that can change permanently change brown eyes to blue. Brown eyes are caused by a layer of dark melanin. When this layer is removed by the special laser, the color underneath (of everyone’s eyes) is blue. The procedure takes 20 seconds.

This procedure is not currently available to the public, as it is in a research and testing phase.

There is another procedure to change eye color which involves inserting a colored lens into the eye. This is considered dangerous and people have gone blind from this. Do not do this. It isn’t worth it. Read one woman’s horror story here.

Wait until there is a safe way to change eye color, or choose from one of the colored contacts I recommend.

I have tried almost every eye de-puffer out there for the bags I get in the morning from allergies. I’ve used Elf Eye Refresh, Exuviance Depuffing Eye Serum, Hydrolyze Intensive Under Eye Treatment, Glam Glow Bright Mud and others with no success. Some of them had such irritating ingredients, they made the bags worse.

The only one that works is a formulation that contains shark liver oil. This oil used to be found in American Preparation H hemorrhoid cream. That’s why people recommended using it to de-puff the eyes. This amazing de-puffing ingredient is no longer found in the American versions of Preparation H so don’t bother buying it here to eliminate your eye bags!!

You have to buy the overseas or Canadian versions of Preparation H in order to get the shark liver oil. Buy it here on Amazon.

I currently use a cream called Prep H. It not only contains the shark liver oil, but also Live Yeast Cell Derivative. I massage it in several times a day, and by the end of the day, I almost don’t have eye bags.

Another thing that works to de-puff eye bags are the Frownies Under Eye Patches.Frownies have been around a long time, and they have improved their formulas. Keep the eye gels in the fridge, put them right under your eyes (not like shown in the photo, right under your eyes up to the water line, on the bags) for 30 minutes. You will see an immediate reduction in bags from swelling due to allergies or crying.